One pound of beef with no bread turns out to be a very extreme experience.

After recently expanding our waistlines with Burger King’s Fake Burger, the fast food chain has now enticed us back through their doors again to try yet another Japan-exclusive: the Extreme One Pound Beef Burger.

This new burger is said to be a monumental menu item, not just in terms of heft and calorie count, but in terms of historic importance, as this is the first-ever Burger King burger to be served up without buns. And it’s said to be so extreme that diners who order it get this sticker to reward them for their beefy accomplishment.

We were keen to live up to the “I did it” on the sticker when we put our order in for the burger, and to really see what it was made of, we asked the staff at the register to cut the burger in half for us.

▼ Full of flavour since 1954, but in all that time there’s never been a burger without buns…until now.

The staff kindly obliged with our request, and when we unwrapped the outer packaging we got our first glimpse of the breadless burger.

Opening it wide, we gasped at its beauty. The burger had been cleanly cut in two, allowing us to get a good look at all its layers. There were two flame-grilled 100-percent beef patties on the top and the bottom, and in between were two rich cheddar cheese slices, fresh lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, onions, and tomato sauce.

▼ It kind of looked like a burger with two beef patties for buns.

We licked our lips and prepared ourselves for the meat sweats, which were sure to arrive as the burger’s four flame-grilled 100-percent beef patties are said to weigh in at 499 grams (1 pound) in total.

We picked up one half of the burger, gently pulled back some of the wrapper, and sank our teeth into its beefy exterior, pushing past all the layers until we had a mouthful of them all. It was a hefty bite, and the very first thing we noticed was the burger’s incredibly juicy texture, as the oil from the meat had no bread to soak it up, allowing it to seep out all over our taste buds instead.

As the juicy beef patties crumbled in the mouth, they combined with the cheese and vegetables to give us a mouthful of fresh, umami-filled deliciousness that had us immediately reaching for another bite.

It did feel weird to not have bread buns on either side of this monstrosity to hold it all together. That made it a bit harder to handle than a regular burger, as the juicy, crumbly texture of the meat made some of the contents spill out. But then we had an idea — what if we ate the rest of it with a fork?

The staff obliged us yet again with our unusual request for cutlery, and once we took a bite with the fork, we wondered why we hadn’t done this from the very beginning. It made us feel like we were eating a fancy dish of steak and vegetables, only with that distinct Burger King junk-food flair, and for some reason, it actually made it easier to finish all the beef, as it fooled the mind into thinking this was a restaurant meal and not a one-pound burger.

We might have looked strange eating our burger with a fork, but hey — we got the job done and could proudly feel worthy of displaying our “I did it” sticker because we totally demolished the Extreme One Pound Beef Burger.

For those who’d like to try the burger with buns, the Maximum Super One Pound Beef Burger is also on the menu for a limited time.

Both burgers will be available for 14 days only, from 20 November to 3 December, and sold from 2:00 p.m. each day. The Extreme Super One Pound Beef Burger is priced at 1,400 yen (US$13.48) on its own or at 1,700 yen for a set with a medium drink and French fries, while the Maximum Super One Pound Beef Burger will retail for 1,600 yen on its own and 1,900 yen for a set.

We were happy to finish the Extreme One Pound Beef Burger, and if you like your fast food on the extreme side, we highly recommend you try it too. And if the Maximum Super One Pound Beef Burger is calling to you instead, be warned – it’s a monster burger that we struggled to finish when we took part in their epic all-you-can-eat special earlier this year.

Photos © SoraNews24
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